Awadagin Pratt

Awadagin Pratt is a musical triple-threat performer, being the Peabody Conservatory's first student awarded simultaneous performance degrees in three areas: piano, violin, and conducting. However, he spends the majority of his professional career as a pianist performing as a soloist, as a collaborator in chamber music projects, and as an educator at a variety of programs, whether at schools or festivals. Pratt signed an exclusive contract with EMI and then received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1994. His first recording was titled A Long Way from Normal, referencing his childhood in Normal, Illinois. A low piano bench, dreadlocks, and dress casual performance attire are his signature, with the last intended to make classical music less intimidating to the general public. In 2023, he released the contemporary music recital Stillpoint, joined by the vocal group Roomful of Teeth and the instrumental ensemble A Far Cry.